Community Chat

[reiki604]

DH was the chef/partner in multiple high end restaurants. Family, friends, and collegues were always comped their meals. Loyal guests were frequently comped drinks, wine, appetizers or dessert as a sign of appreciation of their patronage. It's the nature of the business.

[Cakers3]

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@Deanie wrote:

My DH and I took our grandchildren out today on St Paddys day. We went to a sweet shoppe called Sweet Frogs. Never been. It was a store that served up deserts and had a section to pour out your choice of ice cream then loads and loads of toppings. You paid by the weight of the finished product. I observed a couple come into the store and hand the young girl behind the section a bag. Looked like a dinner bag. Then I observed them make a sundae and did not pay. She knew them by her conversation and demeanor. I flashed back to the beach when a pizza place was having so much difficulty with the wait staff giving away food to their friends that they instituted a procedure. The wait staff had to purchase all the meals served and at the end of the night they payment should offset the purchase. Theoretically. At the time I thought the procedure was a tad Draconian, today, I saw firsthand what establishments deal with for internal theft in restaurants. It is tough.

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@DeanieObserving a couple coming into the store and handing over a bag is one thing.

However, you continued to "observe" this couple while they made a sundae and did not pay.  You also said she knew them by conversation and demeanor.

So not only did you follow them with your eyes you also followed them with your ears-listening in a on convo that had nothing to do with you.

Of course we do not sit with horse blinders on but this couple was doing nothing to suggest danger to the establishment and the customers.  That is a whole different scenario.

Would you like a customer watching you and listening to your convos?

I see nothing "normal" about wondering if people have paid for their food. 

It's called being a nosey Rosey.

[Carmie]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

I don't think I would have batted an eye.  I would not have even come to the conclusion that any thing shady was going on.

Could be a family business where the young girl was working her shift and her parents, the owners, brought her dinner.

My parents own a restaurant.  Often, I would drop in and help myself to something in the beverage case without paying.  Yes, I did get looks.

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Well, for me, it would have crossed my mind and I would have wondered how come they didn't pay.  Yes, I'll admit it.  I don't know them and I would thought of the possibility.  

I learned my lesson the hard way about not being suspicious when I didn't wonder what someone was doing somewhere; someone who didn't look like people I was used to seeing, and that individual stole a bunch of very expensive lighting equipment from us.  So I am not ashamed to wonder what is going on when I see things like that now. 

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Well, when it is your home or your property it is your business. It is important that you be aware of what's going one.

When you are on someone else's property who is a stranger to you,  it is their business and you wouldn't have any idea it something was on the up and up or not. Since it was not a dangerous situation, it was no big deal.

 If I saw the people get ice cream without paying, I'd MYOB.  In reality, I probably wouldn't have even have noticed, especially if my grands were with me.

[missy1]

 There's always another side to the story.

[hckynut]

@Deanie 

The procedure has been around for decades. I started working at a drive-in restaurant at age 12, in 1951. First job was a carhop, and then every job, including managing the biggest drive-in in our city. 

Everyone, including the waitresses in the dining room, paid for their orders before they took them to the customer.  The manager gave every person $5 when you started your shift. Needless to say, that had to be returned at the end of your shift.

If you somehow lost money? The amount you were short was taken out of your paycheck. That is why I detest people who take advantage of restaurant workers, thinking they beat the restaurant out of money. NO, you probably took money from a person working very hard to make ends meet!

hckynut

[homedecor1]

Speaking of "internal theft" certainly not what OP @Deanie  was referring to as she didn't know the "whole" story vs what she observed.  

but we did experience "internal" theft this weekend by "accident" on the cashiers part.

We went to Burger King for dinner just because it was on the way home & we had a coupon deal.  So, we go in & order.  This order came to $10.86 -- spouse gave young man who was the cashier a $20 bill.  

The kid gave him back $19.44 change!  My spouse said that's not right.  The kid said yes it is😯 -- again my spouse told him he was wrong, then the kid said "well, that's OK just keep it the cash register doesn't know you gave me $20 vs $30. Finally, I said ONLY give us the RIGHT change -- the kid said "how much?" omg!!!!

We were livid so spouse asked to speak to manager.  (Of course, this is theft!) The manager said 🤷‍♀️"Ok, if you only want the right change that's OK.". 

I called the 800 BK CS # today to make them aware. (Franchisee).  The woman called me back she thanked me for reporting and of course, offered us a free meal.  No thank you.  She told me this particular BK has been "losing" a lot of $$$.  I will say the people working there were not the "sharpest tacks in the box" and it's not in a great area IMO but they're (workers) smart enough to figure out how to pocket extra $$$.  

UGH😬

[Venezia]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Venezia wrote:

@Deanie  - Since we don't know any of the facts in this situation, I don't think I'd be jumping to the conclusion that theft was occurring.

You don't know who the people were or their relationship to the member of staff.  You said you'd never been there before.  Automatically assuming they were stealing is a pretty harsh accusation.  (And you even say she knew them by her "conversation and demeanor".  So really, you don't know that you witnessed theft.)

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OK, but how does that possibility not cross your mind?  Nobody is saying they called the police, but I think it is natural to wonder about what was going on.  

That ability to process what is happening around us is there to keep us from harm.  When you see something, you assess it.  I don't see anything wrong about that. 

Isn't it perfectly normal to see that and think "Hmmm.  I wonder if they paid for that" or "wonder what is going on there?"

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@Sooner- The OP didn't say she wondered what was going on.  She said she "saw firsthand...internal theft".

I'm perfectly able to process what's going on around me.  That doesn't include jumping to unwarranted conclusions.

[SXMGirl]

@Deanie  If there truly is theft, that probably means that the owners are not around.  Too many people want a business without putting in the hard work.

My friend decided to open a hair salon instead of doing hair at her home.  She only wanted to work on Fridays after her Zumba class.  She believes that one of her employees was stealing from her, but she was never there to supervise, and now her salon is closed.  She lost a tremendous amount of money as she has renovated the space, purchased a great deal of products, and even purchased a massage table and everything needed for massages and facials. 

She is now talkng about reopening.  I told her that either she is a business owner or she plays a business owner.  She was playing before.  

There is no quick and easy way to own a business.  

[lovesrecess]

There are so many reasons what you saw may not be theft, it is hard to assume it was. Many times, relatives of management or former employees may get courtesy meals, etc. The couple may have been her parents as another person mentioned. I have seen similar things many times and don’t give it another thought. 

[dex]

Let’s face it there is a lot of theft happening and we are all paying for it.I see it happen often at my Safeway store and they tell me they can do nothing about it because they don’t have someone on staff trained to apprehend.My Fred Meyer store told me that they lost about half of theirchristmas  clothing inventory in one day to a theft ring.They now have to lock up most clothing items.I see people eating while they shop or having an expensive drink and then they leave empty container on shelf...fair to assume they won’t be paying.I have seen people put alcohol under the baby stroller and check out without putting it on the scanner.I have seen people with big purses dropping things in them as they shop.makeup departments.I could go on.